Yume Yori Suteki Na Lovlier Than a Dream
by Zoi no miko
Summary: The totem is still spinning: Saito wakes up, Cobb does not.  Saito returns to Limbo to discover that Cobb has created a prison of sorrow in his own mind, and must come to terms with the fact that he may not be able to free him from it.


**bSaito/b**

"I'll be right behind you," Cobb tells him, his voice low and reassuring, and pushes him off the balcony.

Saito falls, his mind jolting him finally, finally out of limbo, memories of reality rushing back. He's not sure what to expect at first - he recalls Inception, recalls the levels, and he half expects to wake up in Eames' snow or in the bedroom of Arthur's hotel. But no - after all this time, those dreams are collapsed, the dreamers long gone.

He wakes up on the plane, a little chilly, and it takes a few moments of staring at the blankness of the ceiling for his mind to calm, to accept that this is real. That he's finally awake. That he is as he was, and not an old man. The events in Limbo scroll through his mind as he carefully files them away - at least the important bits, the pieces with Cobb. The sole light of reality in the dream. He can accept this, remember and set things aside, catalog them as dream. Move on.

"Saito." Arthur's voice pulls him from his thoughts - or rather, the unfamiliar edge of panic in it. Saito turns to find him beside the PASIV device, staring at him, his IV line draped over his fingers along with Cobb's. The counters are all at zero.

Cobb is still asleep.

A thousand panicked thoughts rush through Saito's mind at once. Cobb said he's be right behind him. Cobb's the best in the business, he has to wake up. He has to see his children. The job is over. Cobb has to wake up, has to escape Limbo, because if he doesn't then it's no one's fault but Saito's -

He swallows down the panic, focusing on Arthur's lost, helpless gaze. For all his capability, Arthur is a point man, and far too attached to his extractor.

Ariadne's voice breaks the silence, small and frightened. "Why hasn't he woken up?"

Saito hears Eames talking, trying to sound reassuring, but it comes off as false despite his intentions. "He'll come around. It doesn't matter that the timer's gone down, it only regulates the Somnacin distribution. He just needs some time."

"I'll take care of it." Saito's voice is surprisingly authoritative when all he's feeling is a sickening dread. But the team straightens a little, as if they'd been waiting for someone to take charge. Saito glances to Fischer to make sure he's still asleep as planned - a light sedative to keep him in regular sleep until touchdown, out of their hair. He pulls the phone from it's crook in the side of the first-class seat and makes two phone calls - the first to fix Cobb's charges as promised, the second to fix this. Or start.

A dark stretch SUV meets them on the tarmac, unquestioned. Eames and Arthur take Cobb out of the plane in a fireman's carry, Eames openly worried, Arthur stone faced and pale. They're met at the bottom of the stairway by the driver and one of Saito's stateside security detail, but Arthur refuses to let them take over, directing Eames to help him bundle Cobb into the back with a low, steady voice.

Saito steps to the open doorway when they have Cobb settled, draws Arthur's attention with a hand on his arm. "I need you to explain to Miles what has happened," he said simply, holding Arthur's gaze. "I promise you, I will undo this. I will fix this. You have my word."

Arthur is tight-lipped and tense, but he nods sharply and gets out of the car.

Cobb is sprawled on the back seat of the limo, and Saito moves closer to him as they begin to drive away, guiding the man's sleeping form to lean heavily on his chest. He wraps his arms loosely around Cobb's shoulders to keep him from falling as they turn a corner, and thinks that no matter what it takes, he'll deliver on his promise to Arthur.

***

**bYusuf/b**

The lab is pristine, shelves of crystal clean glassware, cabinets full of compounds. There's a young Asian girl in a lab coat who smiles when he enters and bows her head respectfully. She holds out another lab coat to him. "Mr. Dwarian. Welcome to your new lab." Her English is clear, though a little accented.

"Just Yusuf, please," Yusuf replies, shrugging into the coat and buttoning it up, still looking around. He'd barely checked into his hotel when Saito's driver had arrived to pick him up. He'd rather expected the man to be here himself to explain what he wanted done.

"Thank you for coming." Saito's voice is low behind him as he enters the room, a little tight with stress. "Are you able to stay here for a while to continue to work for me? I will of course pay you for your time."

Yusuf nods. "Anything you need."

Saito echoes the sharp nod. "To start, I need to be able to get down to Limbo and still wake up at will. Can you design a compound that can maintain three levels of dreaming where death is the kick? Something neat and simple and controllable, such as a bullet to the brain would be preferred. And I will need to match Cobb's multiplier for brain function. Use anything you need here, and if you need anything more please feel free to let Tayuka know, she will be here to help you with anything you require."

Yusuf glances to the girl and back. This is for Cobb. "I will do anything it takes."

***

**bArthur/b**

Arthur wants to blame Saito for this, he does. He wants to blame anyone, anything, he wants to scream and throw things, he wants to be sick. But he bottles it down and swallows emotion, collecting himself, ready to work.

This is his fault, in the end.

He hadn't researched thoroughly, despite hours on end of work. He should have known about Fischer's training, they could have prepared for it. He was the reason that Saito had been shot, the reason that Cobb had gone into Limbo after him.

The reason Cobb had never come out.

"I need your help," Saito's voice comes from the door of what has become Cobb's hospital bed on a secured floor in one of Saito's office buildings.

Arthur glances over his shoulder and gives a small nod, letting out a long breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Of course. We're going to go down and wake him up, aren't we? We can do it with just the team. Get Yusuf to run the top level again and Ariadne the second, Eames can take the third and you and I can go into Limbo after Cobb."

"We could," Saito says slowly. He must have been prepared for Arthur to propose something like this, it's the logical course of action. The idea of going into Limbo with Saito - a relative rookie to dreaming - is an uneasy one, but Arthur can't deny that the man's experience in Limbo with Cobb is invaluable. Saito will have familiarity, at least. Be more likely to be able to find Cobb.

He doesn't want to risk Saito. He has an irrational fear of loosing the their benefactor as well, ending up with two eternal sleepers. Perhaps it's not so irrational a fear. But it seems Saito has other ideas.

"We will if it comes to that," he says, watching Cobb in the bed. "But I don't want to risk the team. I know how his mind works, I can find him in Limbo. I will try on my own. If I cannot do it alone, we will plan again.

Every bone in Arthur's body balks at the idea. "No. We'll lose you too. You can't go alone, it's too risky And - if you'll excuse me for saying so, Saito - you're not trained for this."

"I will take every precaution," Saito replies, stepping closer to place a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "And you will train me, yes?

Arthur shakes his head. "I'll train you, yes. But we go down together."

Saito's hand tightens a little on his shoulder. "If I go down alone than I am the dreamer. I contend with no one's projections but my own, which will see me as no threat, correct? I can focus soley on retrieving Cobb."

"It should be me," Arthur insists. "It's my fault that he's down there. It's my fault that he had to go after you."

"It is just as much because of me," Saito replies gently. "I will not risk taking another man away from those who love him, Arthur. I will go."

Arthur closes his eyes, knowing from the finality in Saito's voice that arguing is useless. "And if you can't get back?"

Saito's fingers brush against his jacket pocket, just long enough for Arthur to notice, and he hopes the man has found himself a totem. "I will not let that happen."

"All right." Arthur opens the PASIV device where he's set it on one of the room's chairs, looking up at Saito. "Then lets begin."

***

**bAriadne/b**

Saito's office is covered with models, schematics, white boards filled with multicoloured diagrams with scrawled labels, notes, plans. She's spent the afternoon working on this with Eames while Saito and Arthur train in the dreaming. When they come into the office in the early evening they both look exhausted and stretched thin. She looks at them and frowns. "I think we should all eat something."

Saito looks over at her, and for a moment she wonders if he's forgotten about food entirely in his drive to get back to Cobb. "I am sorry. I will have my aide bring in some food." He looks down at the model on the desk. "It looks exceptional. But why is a maze required?"

"It's very simple," she explains. "You won't have to run from your own projections. But you will still have to hide."

"To hide?"

Eames nods, leaning back in Saito's very expensive leather desk chair. "We're not so much worried about you, Saito. But you won't be completely alone in this. Each dream level will have a sleeping Cobb, and we'd rather like to keep your projections away from him."

Ariadne nods. "Since you won't have a dreamer in each level to put you under work the kick, everything will revolve around a carefully designed, automated safe room. There's a fairly direct path to it, but also the opportunity to branch out from that path into the maze if something happens and you need to run. You'll be the only one able to open the safe room, and once you're inside it won't reopen. You'll be safe from anything that's spawned in the dream outside. With waking Cobb as your target, there shouldn't be any reason why your subconscious wouldn't build the dream around having him already in the safe room so that he can ride the kicks with you."

"I won't need a kick," Saito replies with a shake of his head. "Yusuf is redesigning the compounds."

"As brilliant as Yusuf is," Eames starts, "there's only so much that even he can do in the limited time we have. We've set up the automated kicks as a backup, we can't leave your waking up to chance. You find Cobb, stay with him until the kicks and convince him to come with you. You'll be set up with the musical cues, you'll know what's coming." He stood, then, reaching out to curl his fingers around Saito's bicep, blue eyes meeting his gaze. "He may not want to come with you. He may not remember you. You say what you need to, and when the cues sound you come back, you understand? We can't risk losing you down there. We can always give it another try."

Ariadne watches Saito take in the words, but she can see the agony and desperation behind those normally calm, steady eyes - the same desperation she can see in Arthur. Saito merely nods and picks up one of the models, turning to her. "Can you teach these to me when we're under?"

"Yes," she replies. "Do you want to use Edith Piaf for the kick, or is there something more familiar to you? Remember that it will be distorted when you're asleep, it needs to be something recognizeable."

Saito looks thoughtful for a moment, then nods, finding his laptop under one of the models and opening the lid. He leans down to the desk to log on, scanning through files and directories. Finally he pulls a small pink MP3 player from the very back of a desk drawer and loads a file. The MP3 player is decorated with rhinestones in carefully planned spirals, and she stares at it for a moment when she takes it before nodding.

Ariadne doesn't ask him about it until later, as they walk the streets of the first maze. "I recognize the band, but I didn't think it would be your type of music."

"No," he agrees, glancing over at her with a soft smile. "It's not. But my daughter was a fan. Rest assured I will recognize the song anywhere."

Ariadne mulls over his words but decides not to ask about the quiet sadness in them, and takes him into the building that holds the safe room.

***

**bSaito/b**

It's near midnight when he finally convinces them to stop for the day, recruits Eames to drag Arthur back to the nearby hotel he'd booked them into to rest. He'd spent the majority of the time hooked up to the PASIV, mostly with Arthur, sometimes with Eames and Ariadne, training. They'd gone two levels deep - Cobb's impromptu hospital room was quiet enough to maintain it without drugs - and the faster he can get back to Cobb, the less time the man will spend in Limbo. He tries to tell himself that it will help.

With everyone else gone, he curls on one of the lounge chairs he'd brought in for training and makes himself sleep, watching Cobb as he drifts off. When he dreams, it's like something from a Shoujo manga. The grass and cobblestone path are blanketed with the same cherry blossom petals that drift through the breeze. Blue-green peacocks move slowly through the trees, magnificent plumes trailing behind them through the snow of petals. He couldn't have created something more lovely than this in Limbo if he'd tried.

Cobb sits on a bench by a reflecting pool, dressed in the smart gray suit Saito had thought looked so distinguished on him. He rises to his feet when he sees Saito, moving to him boldly, slipping his arms up around his neck. "I've missed you."

"You're not real," Saito replies, heart aching, though his arms slip around Cobb's waist regardless. The real Cobb would never do this, the real Cobb has no idea of his feelings.

"I'm not," Cobb agrees without hesitation. "But I represent a possible reality. A person, a goal. Something you very much want." His fingers slip up into Saito's hair as he moves closer, and the fabric of his suit feels soft and fine under Saito's fingertips. "You know what you have to do."

"I very much wish that I did," Saito replies, shivering at the tease of the other man's fingers. "I don't know how to bring you home."

"Just come back to me," Cobb replies, and leans in to ghost a kiss over Saito's mouth. "You know where to find me."

Saito awakes in a sweat, fumbling in the pocket of his discarded suit jacket for a small metal box the size of a pack of cigarettes, for the key around his neck. He'd had that horrible carpet burnt after Cobb's attempted extraction, every bit destroyed apart from this small square, and though it makes a poor totem it will do for now. The texture of the fibers under his fingers, the way the carpet catches and frays is so distinctive and unfortunately familiar that it brings him back to reality.

He turns in the bed to look at the still sleeping Cobb, at the IV in his wrist and the oxygen taped under his nose, at the electrodes taped to his skin to measure his vitals in soft, reassuring beeps.

He wishes that the carpet didn't feel quite so real.

***

**bEames/b**

"How do I get through to him?"

Saito catches Eames alone early in the morning, in his office going over the plan one last time. Arthur is already in Cobb's room with Ariadne and Yusuf, filling the PASIV's vials with the new but untested compound. Getting ready for the first attempt. He's not sure why Arthur's agreed to let Saito go alone, beyond the obvious advantage of not having angry projections to deal with. Perhaps Arthur simply knows that Eames would never stand for him doing the same thing.

Eames sighs and straightens, setting the papers he'd been reading back on the desk. "I wish I could tell you that. He's been down there a long time now, Saito. Longer than you were. We have no way of anticipating what kind of world his mind has built. I can guess that he's still trapped by Mal's ghost, but then again perhaps he's moved on. Perhaps the prison in his mind is something entirely different. Even the state you last saw him in may have changed completely. I can tell you to focus on reality - on the children, on his reward to go home to them. I can tell you to focus on the team, on his friendship with Arthur, but Limbo will have become his reality. He may well have built himself a world of obstacles to overcome before he can come home."

Saito nods slowly as he listens, looking troubled. Finally he looks back up at Eames. "How did you get through to Arthur?"

Eames finds himself frozen for just a moment, but he manages to recover and smiles. "Now that is a completely different situation all together."

Saito stands his ground. "In this case, it is one and the same."

"Is it." Eames' regards him for a long moment through narrowed eyes, then he leans back against Saito's desk, crosses one ankle over the other. "Is that what you've got planned, then? Shock him with something so unexpected that he can't deny that it's reality?"

"If it comes to that. Is that how it was with Arthur, then?"

Eames chuckles softly. "I'm afraid I have always been completely up front about my intentions," he replied, shaking his head with a little fond smile. "It was Arthur that delivered the shock. I never expected it, and I knew immediately that even I couldn't dream up the reality that is Arthur." He steps forward finally, to lay a hand on Saito's shoulder. "Saito... I don't know everything that happened down there in Limbo with Cobb. And I'm the last person that would ever tell you to disregard your emotions. Just... don't lose yourself. Even love might not be able to save him. You have one week in Limbo, any more and you run the risk of losing yourself too. If you can't convince him to wake up by the time the kick music starts, you make that last hour and a half about you. You say what you need to say, and you leave. We'll try again. But we can't afford to have to rescue both of you. You understand?"

"I do." Saito pats the hand on his shoulder gently before pulling away, turning for the door. "Thank you."

"Remember your timing," Arthur tells Saito as he prepares to go under, deadly calm, and Eames can tell that underneath it he's as scared as he is. "Everything's timed, it has to be exact. If it takes you a few mintues longer to hook up to the PASIV it's all right, just make sure you start the timer on each safe room device as soon as the final chord of the song begins. You sure you're all right to recognize it?"

"We have practiced many times," Saito reassures him with a soft smile. "I will recognize it."

Arthur doesn't look convinced, but he nods. "When it plays for the last time in Limbo, you get yourself and Cobb to a high place and jump on that chord. Build a tower under your feet if you have to, just make sure you ride that kick back up."

Saito glances to Yusuf. "If we miss the kick, will the compound work?"

Yusuf is still for a moment, then gives a helpless shrug. "It's still untested, we have no way of knowing. I've lowered the sedationary effect and raised the level of physical awareness to the point where a sudden and tramatic death such as a shot to the head should knock you out, but... we have no way of knowing."

"And Cobb?"

"The sedation we used yesterday should have completely run its course in his system, we've kept him on something very mild just to keep him from waking and losing his mind. You should be able to kick him out, but only if he wants to wake up. If you tear him from Limbo when his mind isn't ready to accept reality..."

Saito nods, settling back in the lounge chair and hooking up to the PASIV, fastening the IV line in place. "I understand. I will see you all soon."

Eames forces a smile. "We'll look forward to it, Mr. Saito. Remember what I told you, right?"

"Of course," Saito replies, meeting his eyes as Eames pushes the button on the PASIV and sends him under.

***

**bMiles/b**

He answers the front door early in the morning to a delivery truck outside, to a Japanese man in a pristine uniform with a clipboard. "Delivery for Phillipa and James Cobb?"

"I'm their guardian," Miles replies, and the words feel thick on his tongue for the first time. Dom had always been out there somewhere before. He's never had to deal with the very real possibility that these children will become his legal wards, their father incapacitated in a way that distance could never make him.

The delivery man nods sharply, handing him a clipboard to sign, then returns to the the truck.

The first parcel is bigger than the man's torso - a large, stuffed white toy in the shape of a pony, it's mane and tail a fluffy purple long pile fur. It has a small silver horn on it's head and a large pink bow around his neck. The delivery man hands it to him, and for a moment Miles can't breathe, can't do anything but remember what he'd said to Dom at the start of this whole job.

i'It will take more than stuffed animals to convince those children they still have a father.'/i

He sets the pony down in the living room in time to take the second package from the delivery man, an equally large stuffed dragon. "Compliments of Mr. Saito," the deliver man tells him with a smile, handing him a small white envelope. He bows respectfully and leaves.

Miles leaves the dragon with the pony, knowing that the children will adore them but needing a moment to face them. He walks to the kitchen and puts the kettle on for a good strong cup of tea, opening the envelope to smooth cardstock and neat writing in black ink.

i'Please give my regards to little Phillipa and James,'/i the card says simply. i'I promise I will have their father back to them soon.'/i

Miles can only pray that it's true.

***

**bSaito: Level 1/b**

The first level of the dream is a modern western city. It seemed to be an easy fallback, when they were planning. The city isn't the maze, though, just the outskirts - his target is the tall building of steel and glass in front of him. Saito starts towards it at a lope. He has three hours on this level, plenty of time to reach the safe room at the top of the building, but he doesn't want to leave anything to chance. If he reaches the safe room before the beginning of the musical queue he can set the longer timer and go under early, have a little more time in each of the levels and a lot more time in Limbo. That's his goal.

He ignores the impressive front entrance way of the building with it's glass sliding doors and marble foyer, which is the quickest way into the maze. Instead he slips around the side of the building to a service door, keying in a numerical code he knows by heart and stepping inside. There's a service elevator here that will take him up all thirty-five flights to the top floor -

"What are you doing here?"

The voice is soft, quizzical, beautifully accented, and Saito's blood runs cold. He turns to find a woman in the corridor leading to the service elevator - tall and lithe in a well fitted pantsuit, the cream blouse underneath trimmed with ruffles that curl around her neck and down the front of the jacket. She steps forward, just as sure as she was the first time he'd met her, her heels tapping smartly against the polished tile floor. She tilts her head, short dark curls falling across her face.

Of course. Cobb's in this dream too. Saito takes a step backwards. "Mal." She'd been his ally once, but he doubts that this will still be the case.

She frowns. "You're not supposed to be here."

Saito doesn't wait around to debate this with her. He steps back, lunging for the door behind him, and darts into the maze. At first he can only run blindly, finding a staircase and taking them two at a time, then disappearing into the maze of halls and rooms on the second floor. There's always ways back to the service elevator, he just has to lose her...

He can still hear her heels on the tile, and is thankful his shoes are rubber soled, a little more discreet as he makes his way through the floor and up another flight of stairs. For a moment he thinks he's lost her, but when he turns the corner to make his way back to the service elevator she's already there at the end of the hall. Mal whirls, eyes widening, and starts for him without hesitation.

Saito lunges back, grabbing for a door to a room and pulling it behind him, sliding the bolt lock into place. He tries to catch his breath as she bangs on the door, tries to place himself in the maze, to work out a path to the safe room. He can't go to the service elevator, she must know that it's his goal, somehow. Does that make her Cobb's projection, or his own? He can't decide which option worries him more.

He feels a light touch on the back of his shoulder and whirls, heart pounding, but it stops when he sees the person standing there. A projection, he knows it's just a projection, but he can't help but feel a rush of relief at the sight of an ally. "Ariadne!"

Ariadne lifts a finger to her lips, silencing him, and Saito notices for the first time what she's wearing. It's completely unlike what Ariadne would ever wear in real life - a delicate white dress with a tight bodice with puffed sleeves and full knee length skirts. There's layers of petticoats underneath, and it's trimmed with frills and lace and bows and white roses. He'd buried his daughter in this dress, he realizes suddenly, and it sends a chill down his spine. "I want to die beautifully," she'd said, just as romantic as her mother had been. He couldn't deny her that. So in her last days in bed at home he'd dressed her in the expensive dresses and elaborate frills she'd worn on the streets of Tokyo, called in beauticians and hairdressers to curl and arrange her honey-bleached coloured hair, apply the soft, sparkling makeup even when her cheeks were hollowed and eyes bruised from the illness.

She'd been sixteen when she'd died eight months ago, the child of a brief, intense affair he'd had when he was very young. Her mother had died of the same illness many years prior, and he wasn't ashamed to say that when she'd come to live with him he'd spoiled her with everything an eight year old girl could ever want. Still, he'd tried to teach her everything that his father had passed on to him - to be polite and respectful, to listen much and choose your words lightly, to celebrate your peers strengths while quietly taking note of their weaknesses. He'd hoped she'd go into business one day, to grow out of the strange rebellious phase that made her dress in frilly little girl's dresses with platform shoes and lacy parasols, parading with friends up and down Takeshita-dori.

He'd loved her more than anything in the world.

He never would have risked Inception before her death. Afterwards, though, the consequences didn't matter. Not until he met the quirky, passionate team that Cobb had put together. Not until he'd met Cobb.

He has to save Cobb.

Ariadne touches his arm, pointing silently to a ladder at the far end of the room that disappears up into an opened panel on the ceiling. Beyond that he can see light. He starts for the ladder immediately, climbing up as silently as he can. Ariadne follows him, and they both emerge from a hole underneath a desk. He helps her pull the ladder up, setting it aside while she leans down to pull the ceiling panel back into place.

Above, Saito hears the first thrum of the musical cue and swears under his breath. Ariadne merely smiles at him, amused, and takes his hand.

They don't try for the service elevator, making their way up the stairwells scattered through each floor. When he can't remember the way Ariadne takes the lead, ever the architect even in his subconscious, tugging him through nondescript doors and up more stairs and the occasional ladder. They only have a few minutes left when they reach the top floor, and they race together through the hallways, around the corner towards the safe room.

Cobb is standing against the wall ahead of them, dressed in that neat gray suit that looks so good on him. He's holding what looks like an Uzi Pistol, and he straightens when he sees them, smiling. "Took you long enough."

It's just a projection, but Saito still feels a rush of relief at the sight of him. "Sorry, we ran into your wife."

Cobb nods, taking Saito's arm and starting with him towards the safe room. He glances to Ariadne. "Good work."

She merely shrugs and smiles.

Then the service elevator dings.

In a flash Ariadne grabs the gun from Cobb, giving Saito a firm shove towards the safe room before turning back towards the elevator. She stands with her feet spread apart, making a stance, the gun extended, and it's the strangest thing Saito's ever seen. Then the service elevator doors open, and Cobb yanks him down the hallway towards the room.

Ariadne shoots a barrage of bullets into the ceiling, and Saito hears Mal shriek as it collapses in a shower of plaster. Saito doesn't look back, running with Cobb's hand a reassuring press at his back, even though he knows that this Cobb isn't real.

Saito punches in the code to open the safe room, and the security panel shorts out as the doors open, just as it's designed to. He gives a sigh of relief when he sees Cobb sleeping inside, stretched out on one of the two lounge chairs. He steps through the door and turns to shut it, and he can see Ariadne at the end of the hall in a tangle of limbs with Mal, white ruffles and sleek black pantsuit. He meets the projection Cobb's gaze, who nods.

"Hurry," Cobb says simply. "You can do this." Then he turns back towards the women, and Saito pulls down the lever that locks the safe room door permanently shut.

Above him, the cue music booms, a distinctive pattern that his brain recognizes as the end of the song. He counts in his mind, just barely having time to check the sleeping Cobb's pulse before the last chord of the song plays. Saito starts the safe room timer and pulls the headphones on, settling down in the second lounge chair as he fastens the IV line to the PASIV that's already hooked up to Cobb. The floor of the safe room - like all the other safe rooms - is held in place by large steel clamps, and when the timer counts down they will fall three stories. The walls are painted green to differentiate between this and the other, identical safe rooms his mind will create.

Saito settles back and reaches out to press the button that will send them deeper.

***

**bSaito: Level 2/b**

The second level of dreaming is a forest, of sorts. The trees are a hundred times wider than trees would be in real life, wide enough for a small bus to hide behind. Some of them have doors cut into them, some have stairs winding around the outside. The maze between them is high, carefully trimmed bushes.

Everything is as planned, except for Arthur, who is standing there holding the reigns for a black horse, saddled and brushed until his coat is shining. Arthur's wearing the same tidy suit Saito had last seen him in, and for a moment he can't determine whether or not this Arthur is real.

"Just a projection," Arthur says smoothly, handing him the reigns. "You're trained in shared dreaming, so your mind will react to trouble accordingly. Try and protect itself." He cracks a slight smile. "Seems like your subconscious is already pulling out the big guns." He vaults into the saddle of the second horse, a dark chestnut that's just as well maintained, waiting for Saito to mount his own before turning towards one of the secondary openings of the maze. "Go for the safe room. She's here, but we'll be watching for her."

The path to the safe room - a large tree at the center of the maze - is a fairly straight forward, curving path that cuts through it. He sets the horse to a trot, but as he turns the first bend a second horse emerges ahead of him from a gap in the maze. He reigns his horse back quickly, reacting with the expectation of Mal as his mind identifies Ariadne again. The dress she's wearing is another one of his daughters, this time with a bit of a Renaissance look to it - long with full skirts, deep burgundy trimmed with gold over cream. A tiny burgundy top hat trimmed with lace and flowers is pinned into her hair, and she's riding the white horse he'd bought his daughter in life, Saito realizes.

Ariadne smiles, but doesn't waste time, nodding towards an opening in the bushes. "This way, hurry. Follow me."

His black follows her white at a thundering pace, and he doesn't stop to wonder how she can ride sidesaddle at this speed and not slip off. This is, after all, a dream. When the reach an oasis in the maze she pulls up sharply, stopping the horse at the edge of the clearing by the base of one of the huge trees, this one ringed with stairs. There's a decorative lake in the middle with fountains and swans that he doesn't quite remember planning. He scans the clearing, noticing a sadded bay horse grazing nearby, and wonders where Mal is.

Saito hears a whirr and ducks just fast enough to avoid the arrow that soars through the air to stick into a branch of the bush behind him. He wheels the horse sideways after Ariadne, away from the volley of arrows. He can just see into the clearing, and he hears a yell of challenge - Eames - sees arrows fly by in return followed soon after by the bay horse, Eames in its saddle. When Saito moves to follow he sees Arthur race from the other side of the clearing on his chestnut to join him, both boys hooting and hollering as they take off into the maze in, he assumes, pursuit of Mal.

It takes him a moment to realize that his subconscious has put Eames in a tunic and green tights. He makes a note to question it later.

Ariadne has already started across the clearing, and he follows, knowing she'll guide him to where he needs to go. When they see Cobb on a dappled gray horse at the foot of a tree Saito knows they've found their destination.

Cobb, like Ariadne, is princely, in a royal blue velvet frock coat trimmed with gold, a fine white shirt underneath to match his white breeches and knee high black leather boots, a lacy white cravat at his throat. He unsheaths his sword and nods to the foot of the stairs as Saito hears the first boom of the musical cue overhead. "Hurry. We'll guard the tree."

Saito nods and dismounts, looping the reins over a convenient wrought iron bar and starting quickly up the staircase towards the back of the tree. He just manages to dodge an arrow that flies past him to lodge in the tree in front of his nose, and he breaks the shaft as he pushes past it, moving faster. When he reaches the front of the tree again he looks down to find the four of them surrounding Mal, whose horse is is black as Saito's, Arthur and Eames just pulling up behind her. She unsheathes a sword, but he doesn't wait to watch, ducking instead into the doorway cut into the tree and continuing up the spiral of the inside staircase.

When he reaches the top floor Yusuf is at the window, looking down with a look of concern. He's carrying a huge spiked mace, and Saito's suddenly very glad he's on their side. Yusuf glances up and nods towards the door. "You don't need to see. Get inside and get down to the next level."

Saito can hear the faint clang of metal on metal over the thrumming beats of the cue music. He nods, turning to the door and punching in the code to the safe room.

It doesn't open.

"Yusuf?" He looks back in panic, questioning, catching Yusuf just as he starts downstairs, the mace over his shoulder.

"Something significant to you," Yusuf shoots back. "You should know this by now, Saito." Then he's gone.

Saito stares at the numbered panel for a long moment, then inputs his daughter's birthday.

The doors slide open.

This safe room is amber, and the real Cobb sleeps inside. Saito shuts the door behind him and drops into the second lounge chair, waiting for the queue to start the timer and then sending them down another level.

***

**bSaito: Level 3/b**

A projection of Eames is waiting for him this time, standing beside two vintage motorcycles. He's in a dark brown leather bomber jacket over tight black leather pants, and he pulls a pair of elaborate copper goggles down over his face before hopping on one of the bikes and starting it. "Come on, then. We haven't got all day."

Saito's own concession to riding a motorbike is a black leather overcoat, and he zips it up before hopping on the other bike and starting off after Eames, content to let his projection lead the way. This maze is a city at the turn of the century, and they race past horse drawn carriages and old fashioned automobiles.

Ariadne is waiting for them on a street corner two blocks ahead. This dress was always one of Saito's favorites, inspired by the Victorian era - cream with pearl buttons all the way up the back, the skirts pinned up into an elaborate bustle. It's still only knee length, showing her chocolate brown lace up boots, which have somehow been fitted for holsters for two copper coloured revolvers. Ariadne has another in her hand, and she climbs up onto the back of Saito's motorbike like she belongs there. "Ride."

They speed through the streets of the city, and while he knows it isn't the most direct way to get to the safehouse, perhaps it's the best way to avoid Mal. They turn the corner by an impressive cathdral, and stop short as the stained glass window behind them is taken down, brightly coloured glass showering into the street. There's been a handsome cab overturned and a large cart that's run into it, effectively blocking their path.

Behind it all is Mal.

Ariadne's already lifted her revolver, firing it in Mals' direction as Saito turns to ride back behind the church. Eames hops off his bike and peers round the corner carefully, holding his own revolver. "I can lay down cover fire while you two run by - "

"Need something a little bigger, idarling/i?" Arthur's voice sounds teasing and amused as he pulls up, standing in the back of an old convertible - the kind of car that looks like it's had a motor welded on where the horses used to be. Arthur's got a tripod that's been welded to the sides of the car, which houses an impressive looking machine gun. He's wearing a wine coloured double-breasted tailcoat with copper buttons , the vest underneath a darker copper with a fine silk scarf as a tie. Yusuf is driving again, dressed in a white lab coat with a pair of goggles on his head that look more like a jewelers visor than anything else, different lenses and magnifiers that can be flicked down over half the goggles.

Eames chuckles, hops back on his bike, and they swing around so that the car forms a barrier between them and the barricaded side street. They drive by in a shower of fire from Arthur's machine gun, but Saito doesn't stop to see if they've hit Mal, just keeps going. He can hear the cue music begin already, and while he still has almost an hour and a half he doesn't want to push it.

They hear gunfire, and beside him Eames turns to fire back, gunning the motor a little faster. They're close now, and Saito steps on the gas as well, trying to keep the ride smooth so that Ariadne can hang on. She's turned to return fire as well, throwing away one of her pistols and grabbing another from her boot, emptying it before grabbing the third. When that's gone she reaches around Saito and pulls one of the pistols from the belt he hadn't realized he'd been wearing, firing again.

There's a loud pop, and Eames swears, smoke trailing from his motorcycle as he swerves away and crashes into a tree. Saito's subconscious proves a little too accurate, for Arthur cries out after him and grabs the wheel from Yusuf, spinning the car around to go back for him.

Saito rides on, pushing the little bike as fast as it can go, and still Mal pulls up beside him on a bike of her own. Out of bullets, Ariadne curses and chucks the last pistol, but Mal laughs and dodges it easily. What she doesn't expect is for Ariadne to swing a leg over the back of the bike and fling herself at Mal, catching her and pulling the bike into a chaotic spin. Saito swerves with the sudden transfer of weight, managing to keep the bike upright, but instead of continuing he pulls around, heading back to the crumpled motorcycle.

Ariadne's been thrown clean, lying still on the pavement with a pool of blood forming under her. Saito wonders if she's been shot or if it was the result of the crash - either way he doesn't want to think about it, and reminds himself again that this isn't real. They're not real.

He hops off the bike as he reaches Mal, looking around for her gun. She's half crushed under the bike, and Saito thinks at first that she's dead until he finds her pistol leveled at his head. He holds both hands up. "I'm just trying to help your husband."

"You'll never... convince him," Mal gasps, and the gun waivers in her hand. "Go home. Leave him be. Save yourself like you did last time."

A gun fires, catching her in the temple, and the pistol falls. Saito looks up to see Cobb holding a smoking rifle, standing at the entrance to the building holding the safe house. He's wearing a top hat and a gray tailcoat very much like Arthur's, his blue vest and scarf visible underneath. The projection beckons him forward, taking the stairs with him as they run.

When the reach the top floor, he stops, turning to Cobb. "Thank you for your help. It has been invaluable."

"I'm just your subconscious," Cobb replies with a smile. He glances down towards the street, and it seems that everything is safe. "Do you know what you're going to do when you get down there? To wake me up?"

Saito thinks about his time with Cobb in Limbo the first time, about the dozens of times Cobb had approached him. How he'd never believed until the very end. He remembered well the lifetime they had together there - long enough for him to become an old man. This time he only has a week. "I don't know," he replies honestly, shaking his head. "If I can't convince him, can't show him that we're in Limbo... perhaps all I have left is what I feel for him."

Cobb smiles, setting the rifle up against the wall and pressing close to slip his arms around Saito's neck. "Now you've got the idea," He replies softly, claiming Saito's mouth with his own.

Saito gives a soft moan, pulling Cobb closer, wishing that this was the end, that he could take Cobb back to reality with him, enfold him in his arms and make everything better. But time is running short, so he pulls away with a soft smile. "I will make everything right."

The projection's hand lingers on his arm. "Don't give up until you do."

Saito stands at the door to the safe room, staring at the panel for a moment. He thinks of Ariadne, lying in the street in his daughter's dress, blood pooling around her. He punches in the date of her death.

The safe room opens.

Before he can go inside, the projection of Cobb grabs for his hand, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek. "For luck," he says, and pats the pocket of Saito's jacket with the small silver box inside. "Don't forget about your totem."

Saito nods, pulling back and shutting the door behind him. He sets the safe room timer to the thundering booms he can hear from above, and then hits the button on the PASIV to make his way under one last time.

***

**bLimbo/b**

The first thing Saito notices when he pulls himself out of the surf of Limbo is that Cobb's city is entirely in ruins, reduced to piles of concrete and rubble. Here and there the shell of a high rise still stands, but it's like the entire city has been claimed by the sands of time. He feels a shudder of dread run down his spine.

It takes him some time to make his way through the rubble of the city, but he finds Cobb finally because his house is the only thing left whole. Though perhaps whole isn't completely accurate. It still has walls, doors, a roof, but it's fallen into such a state of disrepair that he can't imagine how anyone can live in it. The windows are dirty, a few of the panes cracked and broken, and the grass in the yard is long and yellowed.

Saito makes his way up the path to the front door, the concrete cracked and crumbling under his feet. When he rings the bell he hears the chime inside, but no one comes. He tries to look in the windows to see if Cobb is even inside, but he can't see much past the grime.

He's about to walk away with the inner door opens, and he freezes. Cobb is standing there, two young children clinging to his legs, but where there faces should be there is nothing but smooth, featureless flesh. Saito stares at them for a moment in abject horror before he catches hold of himself. "Mr. Cobb. I'm sorry to bother you."

Cobb shoos the children away, then stares at him from behind the battered screen door. There's no recognition there. "I'm sorry... can I help you?"

For a moment he doesn't quite know how to react. "I've been trying to find you," he says slowly, watching Cobb's blue eyes. The blankness doesn't change. "I promised you that I'd honor our arrangement. I've come to make good on my word."

Cobb shakes his head slowly. "I'm sorry. I think you have the wrong person."

"You are Dominic Cobb. We did business together, Mr. Cobb. You saved me. You succeeded in an impossible task for me. I need to pay you for that, to make good on our deal. Please remember."

Cobb steps back, but keeps his hand on the door knob, keeping the screen door closed. "I'm sorry. I don't know how you got my name or what you're selling, but I'm not interested. I don't know you. Please go away."

"Dom - " Saito tries futily: the door has been slammed shut.

As he turns, Saito is surprised to still see his own creation in the distance, the majestic towers of the donjon on the cliffs overlooking the sea. It looks remarkably intact compared to everything around him, and he fights the temptation to go there. This is where he's needed. He leaves the run-down yard of Cobb's house, but only briefly before he tries again. A direct approach won't work. He'll have to convince Cobb's mind to accept him as part of his every day life.

***

He brings flowers.

It's simple enough to do here in limbo, where he's had a lifetime of experience creating, even if his previous creations were primarily subconscious. The flowers are mix of daisies and coloured chrysanthemums, bright and sunny and already in their own vase with a gold bow tied around the neck. Saito knocks on the door again and holds his breath.

"Yes?" It doesn't take Cobb quite so long to answer this time, but he still stares at Saito with the same mix of suspicion and distrust. Saito tries not to be hurt by it and smiles.

"Good afternoon. I am new to the neighborhood and thought I might introduce myself."

Cobb is still for a long moment, then nods slowly. He steps out of the house, closing the door behind him. "Nice to meet you. I'm Dom Cobb."

"Dom Cobb? I think we may have a friend in common, then. I occasionally do business with a man named Arthur who speaks very highly of you."

"Arthur." Com gives a little sad smile at that, thinking. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen Arthur in a very long time. He used to work with my wife and I, but... she died."

Saito nods slowly. "I am sorry for your loss. I recently lost someone very dear to me also. It's a difficult burden to bear, yes?"

"More than anyone ever realizes," Cobb replies, sagging back against the door frame of the house.

Saito watches him, and pushes a little more. "I always find that sadness is easier to bear when it is shared. Perhaps we should go for a cup of coffee?"

Cobb shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I can't leave the children alone. I'm all they have since their grandparents left."

"All right. Perhaps we could speak inside, then?"

Cobb shakes his head again, more violently this time. "No. I'm sorry, I - my house isn't fit for guests."

Saito steps closer, bringing a hand up to touch his arm. "I don't mind."

"You shouldn't be here," Cobb tells him, voice rough with emotion. "I'm sorry, I - my home just isn't fit, I can't - I can't have visitors with it like this." He turns, pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes for a moment. "It just seems like everything always breaks all at once, and every time I try to fix something a dozen other things go wrong. I try so hard to keep up but I can't. I can't keep the house together, I can't look after the children. I can't do anything here."

"Perhaps I could help," Saito says softly, not daring to approach him. "I very much enjoy renovation projects. I would like to help, if I could."

Cobb gives a little helpless laugh. "You can't. I can't. Everything just goes wrong. I tried to fix the roof, but the spare tiles have gone moldy. The drywall just crumbles and sags when I try to patch it. I replaced the blades on the lawn mower but the motor won't start so I can't cut the grass..."

Saito nods sympathetically, watching him. "Have you thought about finding a new home?"

Cobb's eyes close for a moment in pain. "I can't," he replies. "This was my home with my wife. She died. I can't leave it."

"I'm certain she would not wish for you to live like this," Saito says carefully, and Cobb gives a short, bitter laugh.

"I know she wouldn't. But I have to. It's all I deserve. I killed her."

He looks so defeated, and Saito can't help but stroke up and down his arm slowly, wanting nothing but to calm him. He doesn't know everything that happened with Mal and he likely never will, but he knows enough from his own research. From what Mal herself told him, once upon a dream. "Everyone makes their own choices, Mr. Cobb. Her death was her own choice, not yours."

"I wish I could believe that," Cobb murmurs, and it strikes Saito suddenly that Cobb has made this place into some twisted kind of purgatory. He's accepted Mal's death, finally, but his mind won't forgive himself for it, and so he lives here, in squalor. Perhaps he will never forgive himself.

"Let me help you out," he says softly. "I don't know anyone in the neighborhood, and lonliness is not something I cope with easily. Arthur tells me you are a good man and a worthy friend. Let me help you."

Cobb gives a barked, bitter laugh. "Is that why you're here, then? At Arthur's request, to appease his conscience? You can tell Arthur to fuck right off. If he doesn't care enough to come here himself I'm certainly not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I'm all right." He turns, going back into the house and slamming the door.

Saito leaves the vase of flowers on the front doorstep and walks away, trying to regather his thoughts. Trying not to let disappointment overwhelm him. He'd almost forgotten what being in this place was like, the ever-present fog of limbo tugging at the edge of your mind, trying to make you give in. Forget. It would be so easy. But he has to save Cobb.

***

It takes five attempts before Cobb finally agrees, five approaches, trying to find the right words to soothe the man into accepting him without awakening his suspicion and ire. Each failure is more disappointing than the last, but Saito can't think of any other way to try and get Cobb to open up to him in the little time that he has.

When Cobb finally agrees Saito actually does clean, just for something to focus on as he observes Cobb. He could probably rebuild the house with his mind, but he can't imagine that it would do anything but upset Cobb further. He stays for days like this, speaking with Cobb when he can but not pushing the issue of reality. For now he just needs to gain the man's trust again. They don't sleep - there's no physical need for sleep in Limbo - and it's hard for him to keep track of time. He knows the time he has is limited, and it takes all of his patience to wait, not to rush this and have to start over again.

He finds the top in the back of a drawer while he's cleaning, tossed away between random screws and bits of twine. Not even locked up, just... forgotten. Saito sighs and turns it over in his fingers, remembering the last time he'd touched it. Remembering how it had woken him up. Perhaps Cobb's small totem will do the same now.

He finds Cobb sitting on the back porch, on the half of the bench that isn't broken. He's watching the faceless children play in the yard, though they don't seem to care about the blighted grass or the cracked pavement. The little boy sits in the middle of the dead flower bed, digging holes and filling them in again, over and over.

Saito squats down in front of Cobb, opening his palm to show him the top. "I found this when I was repairing one of the drawers in the kitchen. I thought that it might be important."

Cobb stares at it for a long moment, not moving, not saying anything, but Saito thinks that he can see some flicker of recognition. He sets the top on the cracked plastic surface of the children's table that sits on the porch and gives it a spin, carefully watching Cobb as he does.

"I have always thought that tops were curious things," he says slowly. "They always seem so free when they're spinning, but they always fall over. When I was a child I used to dream about a top that would spin and spin and never stop. When I saw that top I always knew that I was dreaming."

"I don't want to see it," Cobb says suddenly, standing and kicking aside the table in anger. He doesn't even look as the top clatters down the porch steps and onto the pavement. "I put that top away because it belonged to my wife. You have no right to touch it! You have no right to go through my things, no right to be in this house!"

"I'm sorry," Saito says softly, standing as he does, both hands held up in front of him as a peace offering - or a shield against Cobb's anger. "I had no desire to upset you. I simply want to help you."

"You're no help," Cobb spits back at him, skin flushed, his form shaking. "James, Phillipa! Come inside, now! You - " he glares at Saito. "You get you the hell out of here. I didn't invite you into my home. I didn't say you could be here. I don't want to see you back on my property again." With that, Cobb herds the children inside, slamming the back door and locking it behind them.

Saito doesn't move for a moment, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath as he tries not to react to the disappointment, the hopelessness that threatens to steal over him. Turning, he walks the steps down to the pavement and finds Cobb's totem between the cracks of cement. He sets it to spinning on the windowsill, then leaves to regroup.

He's certain his time is almost up.

***

**bCobb/b**

Cobb is in the living room with the children when he hears the sound - low and deep and rumbling, like the foghorn of a ship. Something seems familiar about it, like he's heard something like it before, but he can't remember. He puzzles over it as he hears it again, but pushes away the confusion, picking up the books that Phillipa has left on the floor and putting them back on the bookshelf. The pages are yellowed and brittle, and he fights down a surge of anger at the sight. He can't even take care of the children alone...

He's pulled from his thoughts by the doorbell, and goes to answer. There's a man at the front door, and Cobb stares at him, trying to remember why his face looks so familiar. "... yes?"

"I am sorry to bother you," the man says, and he glances up at the sky when the foghorn blares again, a look of desperation on his face. "I just need to speak with you. I won't take up too much of your time, please just hear me out."

Cobb's not sure why he lets the man in, but he does. He sends James and Phillipa to their rooms and stands in the kitchen with the man. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

"Us." The man reaches out to grasp his forearms, and he looks so desperate that Cobb can't bring himself to push him away. "I need to thank you. And to apologize to you."

Cobb shakes his head. "For what?"

"For all of this. I offered you a way back to your family, your real family, a long, long time ago. A job, and I was injured. You came to this place to search for me, to save my life, and you never gave up on me. We were here together for years, and even though I treated you as a stranger, even though I hurt you... you never gave up on me. You saved me. But you couldn't save yourself. This world of misery that surrounds you is my fault. Because I left you behind."

"I don't understand," Cobb says, though it's not entirely true. Something tugs at the back of his mind, like an image from a half remembered dream. He knows this man, somehow. He remembers seeing this man wounded, blood from a bullet wound seeping through the fine cotton of his dress shirt.

"It's all right," the man is saying, still holding on to his forearms. "You don't have to try to understand. Just listen, please."

The whisper of a voice echoes in the distance, a clear tenor lifted in song, in words he can't understand. The man in front of him tightens his grip on his arm, bringing his attention back. "You saved me, you made me realize that I was hiding from reality. You showed me how to wake up. And I listened to you, not because of logic or arguements, but because in all our endless time together my heart had come to recognize you. To love you. Through all the confusion, I still felt love, felt so strongly for you that I wanted to wake up again. I wanted us to be young men together again. That is why I am here, why I came back for you. To show you how I feel. To tell you that I love you."

For a long moment Cobb can't process the words, can't do anything but stare into the man's dark eyes, to stare down at the man's fingers on his forearms. He's returned the touch without realizing, his fingers curling around the man's forearms, pale against the dark, smooth fabric of his suit. "I don't understand," he says again, because his mind can't process this. There's an ache inside him that he can't ignore, but it doesn't make sense. He's never seen this man before, why does he remember taking care of him when he was shot? Why are there hints of this man's face in his memories, and why can't he place how he knows him?

"I don't need you to feel for me," the man tells him softly, shifting just a little closer to him. "I only want to see you happy. To see you safe. To apologize, and to make up for leaving you here alone. I never wanted to hurt you. I have loved you for longer than I can remember."

Cobb shakes his head slowly, the ache inside him intensifying, making him feel helpless, lost. He looks up at the man, his voice coming out more plantive than he'd ever intended. "But I don't remember you."

"I know." The man's voice breaks on the word, and he lets go of one of Cobb's arms to cup his cheek with one palm, to stroke his fingers into his hair. "Please, just indulge me for a moment longer. My time here is almost finished. I didn't believe them when they told me that you might not remember me. That all our time together may have been lost. I thought I could wake you just by being here, by speaking with you, by reminding you of the friends you left behind. I am so very sorry that I cannot be enough to bring you back to reality."

"This is real," Cobb finds himself whispering, though he can't decide if he means his world - his house, the children - or this man that stands in front of him, the flashes of memory that he's trying to remember.

"I am the only thing here that is real," the man replies, leaning closer to rest his forehead against Cobb's, his voice thick with emotion. "Myself and you. All else is a prison of your mind. Our minds. They told me I would have to speak with you at the end, to say what I need to say to let you go. This is why I am here now." Then his fingers tighten on the back of Cobb's head, and the man's lips press to his, warm and solid and yearning, his short beard strange and rough against Cobb's skin. Cobb doesn't pull away, and in the confusion of it all can only let his lips part to the touch of the man's tongue, let his body press closer, his arms slipping around the man's waist. He can only moan at the warmth of his body, at the feel of the man's other hand clenching in the back of his shirt, his mouth against Cobb's, tasting and claiming him, sucking on his bottom lip and grazing it with his teeth. An unexpected warmth curls in the pit of his stomach, better than he's felt in years. It feels... right.

His mind rebels again, and he shoves the man away. "What the hell are you doing? What gives you the right to come into my house and say these things? What gives you the right to violate me?"

He expects anger, but instead the man simply sighs, soft and defeated, not moving. He glances up towards the sky as that foghorn sounds again, then again. "They told me to tell you and then to leave you," he says softly, and shakes his head. "The others all helped plan this to rescue you. Arthur, Eames. Ariadne. Even Yusuf. They made me promise to come back. But I can't do that." He steps forward to place a hand over Dom's hand where it rests on the kitchen counter next to the cutting board, warm and steady. "I love you, Dominic Cobb. So I am staying here with you. I refuse to leave you a second time. And I know that Limbo will claim my mind, I know that it will steal away my memories of you, but it won't matter if I am with you."

"You can't..." Cobb manages to say, because something is screaming at him not to let this happen, that he has to act before it's too late. That he can't let this man make this sacrifice. "You..."

"I just wanted to tell you this while I can still remember," the man is saying softly, staring down at their hands. "To tell you that I love you. And to tell you goodbye, and that even if I don't remember, I will never leave you. If we are to die old and filled with regret it will not be alone."

Cobb hears the foghorn sound again, long and even, going on and on in a way that isn't possible for a single foghorn. The ground rumbles, and he staggers against the counter, the man's hand falling away from his. The house grows dim, like the sun's gone behind a cloud, and as the ground rumbles, somehow his mind supplies an explaination. Not an earthquake.

A kick.

Cobb looks around the room as the tremors stop, looks to where the man is standing still in the center of the room, staring blankly at the faded family portrait that hangs on the wall by the doorway. He looks past, out into the garden, and his eyes catch on the small, spinning top on his windowsill. How long had it been there? How had it stayed upright through the tremors?

He remembers suddenly, remembers the top in this man's fingers. His words as he turned it over and over in his hand. i'I know what this is. I've seen one before, many many years ago. It belonged to a man I met in a half remembered dream...'/i

He crosses the room and opens the window to pick up the top, holding it tight in the palm of his hand and letting the familiar edges bite into his skin. He remembered this man, remembered sitting across a long table, speaking. Trying to remember. i'I've come back for you. To remind you... of something... something you once knew.'/i

He remembered trying again and again to get through to him, watching the man grow older. Losing his own grip on reality. Finally realizing the truth.

i'That this world is not real.'/i

Saito.

Cobb turns from the window towards the man. "I remember. We're in limbo. This isn't real, we need to wake up." Oh god, how could he have ever believed this was real? The house is rotting around them, the floor covered with dirt and bugs, and the children - oh god, the children. He needs to get home to James and Phillipa. The real James and Phillipa. He needs to see their faces. He catches Saito's arm. "Is it too late to ride the kick?"

Saito turns to him at the touch on his arm, looking at him in in slow confusion before glancing away. "I'm sorry... do I know you?"

Cobb's heart drops down to his toes.

"Saito! No, no no no, fuck!" He catches the man's face in his hands, forces him to meet his gaze. "Don't do this, don't forget me so easily. You just told me that you loved me. You won't forget that, will you? You promised we'd be together. That we'd be young men together. You promised. Don't go back on that."

Saito stares at him, searches his eyes. He wets his lips. "I... I do not understand."

"Just think, just remember. Please." He goes for the pocket of Saito's suit jacket, pulling out the silver box he knows is in there, through he doesn't know what it holds. He pushes it towards Saito. "Open it. It will help you remember. Open it and look at what's inside."

Saito shakes his head slowly, brows furrowing in concentration. "Something important... somethi

ng I used to know..."

Cobb pats through Saito's pockets for keys and finds nothing, though Saito doesn't try to stop him. He finds the key finally on a chain around his neck, and he opens the small silver box, pressing the scrap of green shag carpet into Saito's hands. "You remember this, don't you? That bloody fucking carpet that screwed up my extraction, that let you know you were dreaming. My architect made it out of polyester when the real carpet is wool. You know how it feels under your fingers. This is polyester. This isn't real. This is a dream."

Saito stares down at the square of carpet, turning it over and over in his hand. His lips break a soft smile, finally. "I've always hated this carpet."

"Yes. You remember, don't you? Remember what you said to me. You kissed me."

"Did I...?" Saito's mouth turns up slowly into a wider smile, and he reaches up to cup Cobb's cheek with his hand. There's a sudden recognition in his eyes. "Perhaps I will remember if I try again."

Cobb presses close without hesitation, tilting his face up to let Saito claim his lips, and there's nothing tentative about it. He closes his eyes to the kiss, and all of Saito's words run through his mind. This time they mean something. I love you. My heart recognized you. I won't leave you. We won't die alone. The ache in his chest makes sense now, and his fingers clench in the back of Saito's suit, feeling the secure, familiar bulge of the gun underneath, hooked into the waistband of his trousers.

"Come back," he whispers as their lips part, echoing his words from before. "So we can be young men together again. Come back with me. Come back."

***

**bReality/b**

Cobb opens his eyes with a gasp - opens them to brightness, to warmth. He blinks, trying to take it all in, tearing the cannula from his wrist and throwing the IV line aside. The others are in the room, staring and silent, their names and faces coming back to him in a rush with the memories of before. His faithful Arthur, of course. Eames with all his wit and charm. Sweet, brilliant Ariadne. And intelligent Yusuf with his daredevil streak. But all that matters is Saito, who's climbing off the lounge chair and tearing off his IV line and the headphones with fumbled fingers. He almost trips over the table with the PASIV on it as he rushes towards Cobb, stumbling to the side of the bed. "Spin it. Please. Now."

Cobb blinks, and fumbles in the breast pocket of his shirt for the little top, reaching out to place it on the shiny white laminate surface of the table beside the bed and giving it a practiced spin. It doesn't matter if the others see this in reality - his subconscious will always keep the top spinning in the dream, whether he realizes that he's dreaming it or not.

It seems to take forever, an eternity of silence as the entire room waits with baited breath. Finally the top wavers, spinning off its axis, wobbling, wobbling, finally toppling to rest on its side. Still.

Saito starts to laugh, the low, relieved chuckle of someone who's just cheated death. He lets his head fall forward against Cobb's chest as he does, hands coming up to clutch his shoulders, and Cobb can't help but laugh with him, all the worry and tension running out of him as he wraps his arms around Saito. He looks up at the others and smiles. "Miss me?"

Ariadne is pulling deep gulps of air to keep from crying, collapsing into a chair, and Yusuf quietly hands her a tissue and rubs her back. Arthur is holding tightly to Eames' arm in an uncharacteristic display of dependency, his eyes red-rimmed and bright, and he swallows hard and nods.

Eames simply smiles, his voice soft. "Welcome back, you two. Congratulations."

Cobb knows he's speaking about Limbo, about finally getting home, but as he tightens his arms around Saito he can't help but think that the congratulations is warranted for a very different reason indeed.

~~~FINISH~~~ 


End file.
